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How state governments use their powers to protect the environment and promote public health will be the focus of two fellows selected for the 2022 IU McKinney School of Law Program on Law and State Government (PLSG) Fellowship.

PLSG Fellows Charis Grubbs (left) and Hunt Reynolds (below) will explore the variety of ways state governments address this complicated area of law and policy during their fellowship year, culminating in a symposium at the law school on Friday, September 23.

Grubbs is researching the variety of tools that state governments use to address environmental justice, which impacts citizens’ health and quality of life.

"Environmental issues are disproportionately present in historically resilient and under-resourced communities in Indiana. As a result, these individuals' health, quality of life, and longevity are impacted," Grubbs says. "The Indiana legislature should prioritize addressing environmental justice matters—not just to protect against the disproportionate environmental burden these communities bear—but to ensure that these communities have equal access to environmental benefits."

Grubbs traces her interest in government to her undergraduate experience at Anderson University, where she studied political science. During her PLSG fellowship year, she plans to look at how funding environmental justice initiatives could stimulate the economy, create jobs, and help struggling communities thrive. Through research and conversations with state environmental agencies around the country, she will write model environmental justice legislation for the state of Indiana.

A graduate of DePauw University, Reynolds is focusing his fellowship year on how state governments use environmental impact statements as a tool to protect the environment and inform sound decision-making.

Growing up on a family farm in West Baden Springs, Indiana, Reynolds gained an appreciation for the importance of the environment. An externship with Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb’s general counsel reinforced his interest in state government.

“For me, like many people, being in the outdoors is an important part of life,” he says. “The environment has become a political issue and it shouldn’t be. From rural to urban, we all want clean air and water. Protecting Indiana’s landscapes and waterways is just as vital as economic development.”

Reynolds will explore how states use environmental impact statements to balance proposed state projects and legislation with environmental consequences. Reynolds will also examine how impact statements can promote communication and transparency between government and citizens. After examining legislation from other states, he will propose revisions to Indiana’s current environmental policy.

Both fellows are talking with academics, attorneys, economists, health experts, and policy leaders to flesh out other important aspects of how state governments approach and fund this work. The fellows will address not only states’ power in environmental justice and protection, but also their limits, analyzing how citizen leadership can improve the environment beyond the limits of state government.

Cynthia Baker, clinical professor of law, directs the PLSG program at IU McKinney.

“It is a tremendous honor to steward the PLSG Fellowship through its twenty-first year,” says Professor Baker, who says her role is to ensure that PLSG fellows contextualize their ideas and scholarship with what might be possible, what might be necessary, and what is simply beyond the power of state governments.

“The role of law and state governments in protecting the environment and natural resources extends back to the beginning of statehood and will extend forward for generations; as our relationship with our environment evolves, state governments have no choice but to evolve as well,” Professor Baker says. “The question is, what choices will state legislatures, elected by their constituents, make as they do so?  It will be interesting to see Charis’s and Hunt’s proposals in this regard, and, as always, see if any state legislatures follow suit.”